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To the police, and before a [[grand jury]], Harlow's only statement was that she "knew nothing". Harlow never publicly spoke on the matter. She died in 1937.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Newton|first1=Michael |last2=French|first2=John L. |title=Celebrities and Crime|year=2008|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=0-791-09402-2|page=97}}</ref>
To the police, and before a [[grand jury]], Harlow's only statement was that she "knew nothing". Harlow never publicly spoke on the matter. She died in 1937.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Newton|first1=Michael |last2=French|first2=John L. |title=Celebrities and Crime|year=2008|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=0-791-09402-2|page=97}}</ref>

Bern left a suicide note saying,

⚫
{{quote|"Dearest Dear, Unfortuately [sic] this is the only way to make good the frightful wrong I have done you and to wipe out my abject humiliation, I Love [sic] you.
Paul.
You understand that last night was only a comedy"}}


Paul Bern is buried at [[Inglewood Park Cemetery]], in [[Inglewood, California]].
Paul Bern is buried at [[Inglewood Park Cemetery]], in [[Inglewood, California]].


⚫
[[File:PaulBernNote.JPG|right|thumb|The "suicide" note. It reads: "Dearest Dear, Unfortuately [sic] this is the only way to make good the frightful wrong I have done you and to wipe out my abject humiliation, I Love [sic] you. <br>Paul <br>You understand that last night was only a comedy"]]
[[File:PaulBernNote.JPG|right|thumb|The suicide note]]


===Investigation reopened, 1960===
===Investigation reopened, 1960===
Line 43: Line 37:


===Alternate theories===
===Alternate theories===
In 1990, film producer [[Samuel Marx]], a friend of both Paul Bern and [[Irving Thalberg]], published a book giving an alternate theory of Bern's death. Marx claimed that he went to Bern's house in the early morning of September 5, 1932, before the police were told of the body's discovery, and saw Thalberg tampering with the evidence. The next day, he had been among the studio executives who were told by [[Louis B. Mayer]] that the case would have to be ruled "suicide because of impotence" in order to avoid a scandal which would have finished Harlow's film career. Marx contended that Bern was murdered by his abandoned [[common law marriage|common law wife]] Dorothy Millette, who then committed suicide. <ref>Marx, ''Deadly Illusions''</ref>
In 1990, film producer [[Samuel Marx]], a friend of both Paul Bern and [[Irving Thalberg]], published a book giving an alternate theory of Bern's death. Marx, at the time MGM's Story Editor (the head of the screenwriting department) had gone to Bern's house in the early morning of September 5, 1932, before the police were notified of the body's discovery, and had seen Thalberg tampering with the evidence. The next day, he had been among the studio executives who were told by [[Louis B. Mayer]] that the case would have to be ruled "suicide because of impotence" in order to avoid a scandal which would have finished Harlow's film career. Marx contended that Bern was murdered by his abandoned [[common law marriage|common law wife]] Dorothy Millette, who then committed suicide by drowning, jumping overboard from the ''[[Delta King]]'' on the way to [[Sacramento, California]].<ref>Marx, ''Deadly Illusions''</ref>


==Selected filmography==
==Selected filmography==

Revision as of 14:57, 25 October 2010

Paul Bern
Born
Paul Levy

(1889-12-03)December 3, 1889
Wandsbek, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany (now Hamburg, Germany)
DiedSeptember 5, 1932(1932-09-05) (aged 42)
Template:City-state, U.S.
Occupation(s)Screenwriter, director, producer
Years active1919–1932
Spouse
​
(m. 1932⁠–⁠1932)​

Paul Bern (December 3, 1889 – September 5, 1932) was a German-born American film director, screenwriter and producer for MGM.

Early life and career

Paul Bern was born Paul Levy to a Jewish family in Wandsbek, which was then a town in the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein (now a district of the city of Hamburg). Bern's family immigrated to the United States in 1899 where they eventually settled in New York City.[1]

Bern pursued a career in acting on the stage and studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.[1] He later pursued other aspects of theater production. He eventually moved to Hollywood and worked as a writer and director for various, smaller film companies. This led to his working full-time as a producer at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the major studio of the time.[citation needed]

The star-studded film Grand Hotel won the Best Picture Academy Award for 1931–32. Bern and Irving Thalberg produced the film, although neither was listed in the film credits. (In the early 1930s MGM did not list their films' producers in their credits.) However, the prestigious award was presented solely to Thalberg and Bern was excluded. [citation needed]

Personal life and death

Bern married film star Jean Harlow on July 2, 1932.[2] Two months later, on September 5, he was found dead, from a gunshot in the head, in their home on Easton Drive,Beverly Hills, California.[3] The coroner ruled his death a suicide.[4][5][6] [7][8][9]

To the police, and before a grand jury, Harlow's only statement was that she "knew nothing". Harlow never publicly spoke on the matter. She died in 1937.[10]

Paul Bern is buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery, in Inglewood, California.

The "suicide" note. It reads: "Dearest Dear, Unfortuately [sic] this is the only way to make good the frightful wrong I have done you and to wipe out my abject humiliation, I Love [sic] you.
Paul
You understand that last night was only a comedy"

Investigation reopened, 1960

In the November 1960 issue of Playboy, screenwriter Ben Hecht questioned the official verdict of Bern's death causing renewed interest in the case.[11] Hecht suggested that Bern was murdered by an unnamed woman, and that Bern's death investigation was a "suicide whitewash". Hecht went on to say that the explanation of Bern's suicide "would be less a black eye for their [MGM's] biggest movie making heroine. It might crimp her [Harlow's] box office allure to have her blazoned as a wife who couldn't hold her husband".[12] The article prompted Los Angeles County District Attorney William B. McKesson to reopen the case, but McKesson later closed it stating, "When I ordered the record check I assumed Hecht was still a responsible reporter. It now appears...that he apparently was peddling a wild and unconfirmed rumor as fact."[12]

Alternate theories

In 1990, film producer Samuel Marx, a friend of both Paul Bern and Irving Thalberg, published a book giving an alternate theory of Bern's death. Marx, at the time MGM's Story Editor (the head of the screenwriting department) had gone to Bern's house in the early morning of September 5, 1932, before the police were notified of the body's discovery, and had seen Thalberg tampering with the evidence. The next day, he had been among the studio executives who were told by Louis B. Mayer that the case would have to be ruled "suicide because of impotence" in order to avoid a scandal which would have finished Harlow's film career. Marx contended that Bern was murdered by his abandoned common law wife Dorothy Millette, who then committed suicide by drowning, jumping overboard from the Delta King on the way to Sacramento, California.[13]

Selected filmography

Director

Producer

Writer

References

  1. ^ a b Donnelley, Paul (2003). Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries (2 ed.). Omnibus Press. p. 157. ISBN 0-711-99512-5.
  2. ^ James, Edward T.; Wilson James, Janet; Boyer, Paul S. (1971). Notable American Women, 1607-1950: A Biographical Dictionary, Volume 2. Vol. 2. Harvard University Press. p. 137. ISBN 0-674-62734-2.
  3. ^ Ghaffari, Michelle (1995). Mystery and Mayhem: Tales of Lust, Murder, Madness, and Disappearance. MetroBooks. ISBN 1-567-99176-9.
  4. ^ Vieira, Mark A. (2010). Irving Thalberg: Boy Wonder To Producer Prince. University of California Press. p. 213. ISBN 0-520-26048-1.
  5. ^ Slatzer, Robert; Austin, John (1994). Hollywood's Babylon Women. SP Books. p. 69. ISBN 1-561-71288-4.
  6. ^ Fleming, E. J. (2009). Paul Bern: The Life and Famous Death of the MGM Director and Husband of Harlow. McFarland. p. 255. ISBN 0-786-43963-7.
  7. ^ Vieira, Mark A. (2010). Irving Thalberg: Boy Wonder To Producer Prince. University of California Press. p. 213. ISBN 0-520-26048-1.
  8. ^ Slatzer, Robert; Austin, John (1994). Hollywood's Babylon Women. SP Books. p. 69. ISBN 1-561-71288-4.
  9. ^ Fleming, E. J. (2009). Paul Bern: The Life and Famous Death of the MGM Director and Husband of Harlow. McFarland. p. 255. ISBN 0-786-43963-7.
  10. ^ Newton, Michael; French, John L. (2008). Celebrities and Crime. Infobase Publishing. p. 97. ISBN 0-791-09402-2.
  11. ^ Slatzer, Robert; Austin, John (1994). Hollywood's Babylon Women. SP Books. p. 1967. ISBN 1-561-71288-4.
  12. ^ a b Fleming, E. J. (2009). Paul Bern: The Life and Famous Death of the MGM Director and Husband of Harlow. McFarland. p. 298. ISBN 0-786-43963-7.
  13. ^ Marx, Deadly Illusions

Footnote

  • Samuel Marx and Joyce Vanderveen: Deadly Illusions (Random House, New York, 1990), re-published as Murder Hollywood Style - Who Killed Jean Harlow's Husband? (Arrow, 1994, ISBN 0 09 961060 4)

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